Transistor interface between gate and active region

ABSTRACT

Semiconductor devices including structures of active region are disclosed. An example semiconductor device according to the disclosure includes a substrate, a layer on the substrate and a dielectric layer on the layer. The layer includes an interface in contact with the dielectric layer. The interface includes a first portion on a surface of the layer and a second portion perpendicular to the first portion.

BACKGROUND

High data reliability, high speed of memory access, lower powerconsumption and reduced chip size are features that are demanded fromsemiconductor memory.

Recently, an alloy of silicon-germanium (SiGe) has been emerged asmaterial used in a channel region of a transistor in semiconductormemory. The SiGe alloy has higher carrier mobility compared tomonocrystalline silicon (Si). Due to high carrier mobility of thesilicon-germanium in the channel region, a threshold voltage between agate and a source of the transistor, such as a p-channel type device,can decrease. The reduced negative threshold voltage increases a currentwithin the p-channel type device at an on state. The alloy ofsilicon-germanium (SiGe) is known to improve negative bias temperatureinstability (NBTI) of a p-channel device.

Memory cells of memory devices such as dynamic random access memories(DRAMs), static RAMs (SRAMs), flash memories, or the like can experiencedefects leading to errors and/or failures. In some cases, memory cellscan be identified as defective (hereinafter “defective memory cells”)after the memory device (e.g., a memory chip) has been packaged, such asin cases where the memory cells were not defective before the packagingprocess. Examples of packaging include, but are not limited to,encapsulation by epoxy, ceramic packages, metal/glass packages, and thelike. After a memory device has been packaged, the memory device can betested to identify defective memory cells. Addresses mapped (e.g.,assigned) to defective memory cells can be remapped (e.g., reassigned)to functional memory cells (e.g., memory cells that have not beenidentified as defective) so that the memory device can still beeffective.

Programmable elements, such as fuses or antifuses of memory devices canbe programmed to store data corresponding to one or more addressesmapped to defective memory cells. One example of a group of programmableelements is a row of antifuses. An antifuse has a high resistance in itsinitial state. An antifuse can permanently create an electricallyconductive path when a relatively high voltage is applied across theantifuse. An antifuse can have a structure similar to that of acapacitor, i.e., two conductive electrical terminals are separated by adielectric layer, such as a gate oxide film. To create an electricallyconductive path, a relatively high voltage is applied across theterminals, breaking down the interposed dielectric layer and forming aconductive link between the antifuse terminals. Creating a conductivepath through an antifuse is referred to as “blowing an antifuse.”

A conventional antifuse has a planar interface between an active regionand a dielectric layer. When the relative high voltage is applied tobreak down the dielectric layer, stress that is dispersed through thedielectric layer causes a variance of conductive paths of the antifuse.Furthermore, when the breakdown of the dielectric layer is not complete,a resulting conductive path may have high impedance. Thus, antifuseswith reliable breakdown when the relative high voltage is applied aredesired. Antifuses manufactured simultaneously with transistors usuallyhave a similar structure to a structure of transistor. Thus, an alloy ofsilicon-germanium (SiGe) implemented to transistors may also beimplemented to antifuses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TIE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified layout diagram of a semiconductor deviceincluding an apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of the semiconductor device including theapparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a portion of an apparatus according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a semiconductor device including anapparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a semiconductor device including anapparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained below indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The followingdetailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, byway of illustration, specific aspects in which embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theembodiments of present disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized,and structure, logical and electrical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. The variousembodiments disclosed herein are not necessary mutually exclusive, assome disclosed embodiments can be combined with one or more otherdisclosed embodiments to form new embodiments.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with referenceto FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 . FIG. 1 is a simplified layout diagram of asemiconductor device 1 including an apparatus 10, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagramillustrating a vertical cross-sectional view of a schematic structure ofthe semiconductor device 1 including the apparatus 10. FIG. 2 may be across-sectional view showing the semiconductor device 1 along on a lineA-A′ shown in FIG. 1 . That is, the cross-sectional view covers aportion of the apparatus 10 including a gate electrode 101, an activeregion 103 and a plurality of conductive plugs 121, 122 and 123. In someembodiments, the apparatus 10 may include a transistor-type structure.For example, the apparatus 10 may be an antifuse. Because the apparatusmay include the transistor-type structure, the terminology of transistoris employed in the following description.

The semiconductor device 1 includes a semiconductor substrate 100. Thesemiconductor substrate 100 may be a silicon wafer including, forexample, monocrystalline silicon. The semiconductor device 1 includes anisolation region 102 on the semiconductor substrate 100. The isolationregion 102 may include, for example, a shallow trench isolation (STI)structure. The isolation region 102 may be formed by etching trenches inthe semiconductor substrate 100 using known lithography technology andanisotropic dry etching technology and depositing an insulating film tofill the trenches. For example, the insulating film may be a siliconoxide film (SiO2), a silicon nitride film (Si3N4), a silicon oxynitridefilm (SiOxNy), a combination thereof, etc. The apparatus 10 may bedisposed on the active region 103 defined by the isolation region 102.The isolation region 102 electrically isolates elements of the apparatus10 disposed on the semiconductor substrate 100 from other devices (e.g.,transistors, antifuses, not shown) disposed on the semiconductorsubstrate 100. In some embodiments, a main surface that is an exposedsurface of the semiconductor substrate 100 without being etched and atop surface of the isolation region 102 may be on a same plane.

A layer 130 may be disposed within the active region 103 and above thesemiconductor substrate 100. In some embodiments, the layer 130 may bedisposed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate 100surrounded by the isolation region 102. In some embodiments, the layer130 may include a material that has an impedance that is lower than animpedance of a material used in the semiconductor substrate 100. Forexample, the layer 130 may include an alloy of silicon-germanium (SiGe).In some embodiments, the layer 130 may be formed by epitaxial growth ofthe silicon-germanium on the active region 103 of the semiconductorsubstrate 100. Silicon germanium has characteristics to enhance carriermobility. Another type of a chemical compound film which has a similareffect of increasing carrier mobility may be used as the layer 130. Insome embodiments, the layer 130 may include any III-V compoundsemiconductor obtained by combining group III elements (e.g., boron,aluminum, gallium, indium or thallium) with group V elements (e.g.,nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth). In someembodiments, the layer 130 including any III-V compound semiconductormay be formed by epitaxial growth of the III-V semiconductor. In someembodiments, the layer 130 may include silicon (Si). The layer 130 maybe formed as another separate film including silicon on thesemiconductor substrate 100. Alternatively, the layer 130 may be aportion of the semiconductor substrate 100. By depositing the insulatingfilm that has a thickness less than a depth of the trench, a top portionof the semiconductor substrate 100 may remain as the layer 130.

The apparatus 10 also includes a channel region 104 within the activeregion 103 and below the gate electrode 101. In some embodiments, thechannel region 104 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may bean n-type region. However,another type of region (e.g., p-type region) may also be applicable. Theapparatus 10 may also include the conductive plugs 122 and 123. Theconductive plugs 122 and 123 may be disposed on the layer 130. Theconductive plugs 122 and 123 may be electrically coupled to the layer130. For example, the conductive plugs 122 and 123 may include copper(Cu) or the like. In some embodiments, the conductive plugs 122 and 123may be a through-dielectric via (TDV) (e.g., through-dielectricconductor). The conductive plugs 122 and 123 may provide conductivepaths to a source/drain of the apparatus 10.

The apparatus 10 includes the gate electrode 101 that is above thechannel region 104 and the isolation region 102. In some embodiments,the gate electrode 101 may include one or more dielectric layers. InFIG. 2 , the one or more dielectric layers include dielectric layers 105and 106 and another dielectric layer 110. The dielectric layer 105 isabove the channel region 104 and the isolation region 102. Thedielectric layer 105 may include a portion disposed on the channelregion 104 and another portion disposed on the isolation region 102. Thedielectric layer 105 may be an insulating film that may be referred to agate oxide. The gate oxide may include a silicon oxide film (SiO2) forexample. The dielectric layer 106 may be disposed on the dielectriclayer 105. The dielectric layer 106 may include an insulating film ofhigh-k material with high relative permittivity. The High-k film mayinclude oxidized material containing transition metal and the like. Thetransition metal may be any one of, for example, yttrium (Y), titanium(Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), niobium (Nb), and tantalum (Ta).

In some embodiments, the gate electrode 101 may further includeconductive layers. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the conductivelayers may include conductive layers 107, 108 and 109. The conductivelayer 107 may be disposed on the dielectric layer 106. In someembodiments, the conductive layer 107 may include, for example, titaniumnitride (TiN). In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be a P-channeltype device, and the conductive layer 107 may have a composition ratiobetween titanium (Ti) and nitrogen (N) suitable for a P-channel typedevice.

The conductive layer 108 may be disposed on the conductive layer 107.The gate electrode layer 108 may be a poly-silicon (poly-Si) layerincluding poly-silicon. In some embodiments, the gate electrode layer108 may be doped with an impurity, for example, phosphorus (P), arsenic(As) or boron (B). The conductive layer 109 may be disposed on theconductive layer 108. The conductive layer 109 may be one or more metallayers. The one or more metal layers may include, for example, tungsten(W) or the like. The dielectric layer 110 may be disposed on theconductive layer 109. The dielectric layer 110 may be an insulatingfilm. The insulating film may include a silicon nitride film (Si3N4) forexample. The conductive plug 121 may be disposed through the dielectriclayer 110 to be in contact with the conductive layer 109. The conductiveplug 121 may be electrically coupled to the conductive layer 109. Forexample, the conductive plug 121 may include copper (Cu) or the like. Insome embodiments, the conductive plug 121 may be a through-dielectricvia (TDV) (e.g., through-dielectric conductor).

The channel region 104 may have an interface 131 in contact with thedielectric layer 105 of the gate electrode 101. In some embodiments, theinterface 131 may include a portion 131A that may be on a main surfaceof the layer 130 and is in contact with the dielectric layer 105. Insome embodiments, the interface 131 may further include another portion131B on a side surface of the layer 130 that extends in a direction of athickness of the layer 130 and is in contact with the dielectric layer105. The other portion of the interface 131 in the direction of thethickness of the layer 130 may be perpendicular to the main surface ofthe layer 130. A corner 133 of the interface 131 is disposed at anintersection of the portion and the other portion of the interface 131.Carriers with increased mobility may cause concentration of chargedparticles at and/or around the corner 133 of the interface 131. When arelatively high voltage is applied to the gate electrode 101 through theconductive layers 109, 108 and 107, a breakdown may be facilitated inthe dielectric layers 105 and 106 due to the concentration of thecharged particles at and/or around the corner 133 of the interface 131.For example, a breakdown in the dielectric layers 105 and 106 at and/oraround the corner 133 of the interface 131 may be caused due to theconcentration of the charged particles at and/or around the corner 133of the interface 131. Thus, a conductive path may be created through thedielectric layers 105 and 106 at and/or around the corner 133 of theinterface 131. For example, the conductive path may include an end inproximity to the corner 133.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a portion 3 of an apparatus accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure. The portion 3 may include aportion 332 of an apparatus. In some embodiments, the apparatus mayinclude a transistor-type structure. For example, the apparatus may bean antifuse. The portion 3 includes a semiconductor substrate 300. Thesemiconductor substrate 300 may be a silicon wafer including, forexample, monocrystalline silicon. The portion 3 includes an isolationregion 302. The isolation region 302 may include, for example, a shallowtrench isolation (STI) structure. The isolation region 302 may be formedby etching trenches in the semiconductor substrate 300 using knownlithography technology and anisotropic dry etching technology anddepositing an insulating film to fill the trenches. For example, theinsulating film may be a silicon oxide film (SiO2), a silicon nitridefilm (Si3N4), a silicon oxynitride film (SiOxNy), a combination thereof,etc.

A layer 330 may be disposed above the semiconductor substrate 300. Insome embodiments, the layer 330 may include a material that has animpedance that is lower than an impedance of a material used in thesemiconductor substrate 300. For example, the layer 330 may include analloy of silicon-germanium (SiGe). In some embodiments, the layer 330may be formed by epitaxial growth of the silicon-germanium on thesemiconductor substrate 300. Silicon germanium has characteristics toenhance carrier mobility. Another type of a chemical compound film whichhas a similar effect of increasing carrier mobility may be used as thelayer 330. In some embodiments, the layer 330 may include any III-Vcompound semiconductor obtained by combining group III elements (e.g.,boron, aluminum, gallium, indium or thallium) with group V elements(e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth). In someembodiments, the layer 330 including any III-V compound semiconductormay be formed by epitaxial growth of the III-V semiconductor. In someembodiments, the layer 330 may include silicon (Si). The layer 330 maybe formed as another separate film including silicon on thesemiconductor substrate 300. In some embodiments, the layer 330 mayextend further above the isolation region 302 as shown in FIG. 3 .Alternatively, the layer 330 may be a portion of the semiconductorsubstrate 300. By depositing the insulating film that has a thicknessless than a depth of the trench, a top portion of the semiconductorsubstrate 300 may remain as the layer 330.

One or more dielectric layers of a gate electrode may be disposed on orabove the layer 330 and the isolation region 302. In some embodiments,the one or more dielectric layers include dielectric layers 305 and 306.In some embodiments, the dielectric layers 305 and 306 may be a portionof a gate electrode, such as the gate electrode 101 of FIGS. 1 and 2 .The dielectric layer 305 may be disposed on the layer 330 and theisolation region 302. Thus, the dielectric layer 305 may be in contactwith a main surface and a side surface of the layer 330. The dielectriclayer 305 may be an insulating film that may be referred to a gateoxide. The gate oxide may include a silicon oxide film (SiO2) forexample. The dielectric layer 306 may be disposed on the dielectriclayer 305. The dielectric layer 306 may include an insulating film ofhigh-k material with high relative permittivity. The High-k film mayinclude, oxidized material containing transition metal and the like. Thetransition metal may be any one of, for example, yttrium (Y), titanium(Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), niobium (Nb), and tantalum (Ta).

The portion 332 may have a similar structure as a structure of a portion132 of the apparatus 10 in FIG. 2 . The portion 3 may include aninterface 331 in contact with the dielectric layer 305. The interface331 may include a portion 331A on the main surface of the layer 330 andin contact with the dielectric layer 305. The interface 331 may furtherinclude another portion 331B on the side surface of the layer 330 in adirection of a thickness of the layer 330 and in contact with thedielectric layer 305. The other portion of the interface 331 in thedirection of the thickness of the layer 330 may be perpendicular to themain surface of the layer 330. A corner 333 of the interface 331 isdisposed at an intersection of the portion and the other portion of theinterface 331. Carriers with increased mobility may cause concentrationof charged particles at and/or around the corner 333 of the interface331. When a relatively high voltage is applied to the dielectric layers305 and 306, a breakdown may be facilitated in the dielectric layers 305and 306 due to the concentration of the charged particles at and/oraround the corner 333 of the interface 331. For example, a breakdown inthe dielectric layers 305 and 306 at and/or around the corner 333 of theinterface 331 may be caused due to the concentration of the chargedparticles at and/or around the corner 333 of the interface 331. Thus, aconductive path may be created through the dielectric layers 305 and 306at and/or around the corner 333 of the interface 331. For example, theconductive path may include an end in proximity to the corner 333.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a semiconductor device 4 including anapparatus 40 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, the apparatus 40 may include a transistor-typestructure. For example, the apparatus 40 may be an antifuse. Thesemiconductor device 4 includes a semiconductor substrate 400. Thesemiconductor substrate 400 may be a silicon wafer including, forexample, monocrystalline silicon. The semiconductor device 4 includes anisolation region 402 on the semiconductor substrate 400. The isolationregion 402 may include, for example, a shallow trench isolation (STI)structure. The isolation region 402 may be formed by etching trenches inthe semiconductor substrate 400 using known lithography technology andanisotropic dry etching technology and depositing an insulating film tofill the trenches. For example, the insulating film may be a siliconoxide film (SiO2), a silicon nitride film (Si3N4), a silicon oxynitridefilm (SiOxNy), a combination thereof, etc. The apparatus 40 may bedisposed on the active region 403 defined by the isolation region 402.The isolation region 402 electrically isolates elements of the apparatus40 disposed on the semiconductor substrate 400 from other devices (e.g.,transistors, antifuses, not shown) disposed on the semiconductorsubstrate 400. In some embodiments, a main surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 100 without being etched and a top surface of the isolationregion 402 may be on a same plane.

A layer 430 may be disposed above the semiconductor substrate 400. Insome embodiments, the layer 430 may be disposed on the main surface ofthe semiconductor substrate 400 surrounded by the isolation region 402.In some embodiments, the layer 430 may include a material that has animpedance that is lower than an impedance of a material used in thesemiconductor substrate 400. For example, the layer 430 may include analloy of silicon-germanium (SiGe). In some embodiments, the layer 430may be formed by epitaxial growth of the silicon-germanium on thesemiconductor substrate 400. Silicon germanium has characteristics toenhance carrier mobility. Another type of a chemical compound film whichhas a similar effect of increasing carrier mobility may be used as thelayer 430. In some embodiments, the layer 430 may include any III-Vcompound semiconductor obtained by combining group III elements (e.g.,boron, aluminum, gallium, indium or thallium) with group V elements(e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth). In someembodiments, the layer 430 including any III-V compound semiconductormay be formed by epitaxial growth of the III-V semiconductor. In someembodiments, the layer 430 may include silicon (Si). The layer 430 maybe formed as another separate film including silicon on thesemiconductor substrate 400. Alternatively, the layer 430 may be aportion of the semiconductor substrate 400. By depositing the insulatingfilm that has a thickness less than a depth of the trench, a top portionof the semiconductor substrate 400 may remain as the layer 430.

The apparatus 40 includes the gate electrode 401 that is above a portionof the layer 430 and a portion of the isolation region 402. In someembodiments, the gate electrode 401 may include one or more dielectriclayers. In FIG. 4 , the one or more dielectric layers include dielectriclayers 405, 406 and 411 and another dielectric layer 410. The dielectriclayer 405 may include a portion disposed on the layer 430 and anotherportion disposed on the isolation region 402. The dielectric layer 405may be an insulating film that may be referred to a gate oxide. The gateoxide may include a silicon oxide film (SiO2) for example. Thedielectric layer 406 may be disposed on the dielectric layer 405. Thedielectric layer 406 may include an insulating film of high-k materialwith high relative permittivity. The High-k film may include, oxidizedmaterial containing transition metal and the like. The transition metalmay be any one of, for example, yttrium (Y), titanium (Ti), zirconium(Zr), hafnium (Hf), niobium (Nb), and tantalum (Ta). The dielectriclayer 411 may be formed on the dielectric layer 406. The dielectriclayer 411, together with another conductive layer above the dielectriclayer 411 may control an effective work function (EWF) to adjust athreshold voltage (Vt). The dielectric layer 411 may include aninsulating layer. The insulating layer may include oxidized materialincluding, for example, aluminum oxide (AlxOy), lanthanum oxide (LaxOy),etc.

In some embodiments, the gate electrode 401 may further includeconductive layers. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the conductivelayers may include conductive layers 407, 408 and 409. The conductivelayer 407 may be disposed on the dielectric layer 411. In someembodiments, the conductive layer 407 may include, for example, titaniumnitride (TiN). In some embodiments, the apparatus 40 may be P-channeltype MOSFET, and the conductive layer 407 may have a composition ratiobetween titanium (Ti) and nitrogen (N) suitable for a P-channel typeMOSFET.

The conductive layer 408 may be disposed on the conductive layer 407.The gate electrode layer 408 may be a poly-silicon (poly-Si) layerincluding poly-silicon. In some embodiments, the gate electrode layer408 may be doped with an impurity, for example, phosphorus (P), arsenic(As) or boron (B). The conductive layer 409 may be disposed on theconductive layer 408. The conductive layer 409 may be one or more metallayers. The one or more metal layers may include, for example, tungsten(W) or the like. The dielectric layer 410 may be disposed on theconductive layer 409. The dielectric layer 405 may be an insulatingfilm. The insulating film may include a silicon nitride film (Si3N4) forexample. A conductive plug 421 may be disposed through the dielectriclayer 410 to be in contact with the conductive layer 409. The conductiveplug 421 may be electrically coupled to the conductive layer 409. Forexample, the conductive plug 421 may include copper (Cu) or the like. Insome embodiments, the conductive plug 421 may be a through-dielectricvia (TDV) (e.g., through-dielectric conductor).

The layer 430 may have an interface 431 in contact with the dielectriclayer 405 of the gate electrode 401. In some embodiments, the interface431 may include a portion that may be on a main surface of the layer 430and is in contact with the dielectric layer 405. In some embodiments,the interface 431 may further include another portion on a side surfaceof the layer 430 in a direction of a thickness of the layer 430 incontact with the dielectric layer 405. The main surface of the layer 430may be perpendicular to the other portion of the interface 431 in thedirection of the thickness of the layer 430. A corner 433 of theinterface 431 is disposed at an intersection of the portion and theother portion of the interface 431. Carriers with increased mobility maycause concentration of charged particles at and/or around the corner 433of the interface 431. When a relatively high voltage is applied to thegate electrode 401 through the conductive layers 409, 408 and 407, abreakdown may be facilitated in the dielectric layers 405, 406 and 411due to the concentration of the charged particles at and/or around thecorner 433 of the interface 431. For example, a breakdown in thedielectric layers 405, 406 and 411 at and/or around the corner 433 ofthe interface 431 may be caused due to the concentration of the chargedparticles at and/or around the corner 433 of the interface 431. Thus, aconductive path may be created through the dielectric layers 405, 406and 411 at and/or around the corner 433 of the interface 431. Forexample, the conductive path may include an end in proximity to thecorner 433.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical cross-sectionalview of a schematic structure of a semiconductor device 5 including anapparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, the apparatus 50 may include a transistor-typestructure. For example, the apparatus 50 may be an antifuse. Thesemiconductor device 5 includes a semiconductor substrate 500. Thesemiconductor substrate 500 may be a silicon wafer including, forexample, monocrystalline silicon. The semiconductor device 5 includes anisolation region 502 on the semiconductor substrate 500. The isolationregion 502 may include, for example, a shallow trench isolation (STI)structure. The isolation region 502 may be formed by etching trenches inthe semiconductor substrate 500 using known lithography technology andanisotropic dry etching technology and depositing an insulating film tofill the trenches. For example, the insulating film may be a siliconoxide film (SiO2), a silicon nitride film (Si3N4), a silicon oxynitridefilm (SiOxNy), a combination thereof, etc. The apparatus 50 may bedisposed on the active region 503 defined by the isolation region 502.The isolation region 502 electrically isolates elements of the apparatus50 disposed on the semiconductor substrate 500 from other devices (e.g.,transistors, antifuses, not shown) disposed on the semiconductorsubstrate 500. In some embodiments, a main surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 500 without being etched and a top surface of the isolationregion 502 may be on a same plane.

A layer 530 may be disposed above the semiconductor substrate 500. Insome embodiments, the layer 530 may be disposed on the main surface ofsemiconductor substrate 50) surrounded by the isolation region 502. Insome embodiments, the layer 530 may include a material that has animpedance that is lower than an impedance of a material used in thesemiconductor substrate 500. For example, the layer 530 may include analloy of silicon-germanium (SiGe). In some embodiments, the layer 530may be formed by epitaxial growth of the silicon-germanium on thesemiconductor substrate 500. Silicon germanium has characteristics toenhance carrier mobility. Another type of a chemical compound film whichhas a similar effect of increasing carrier mobility may be used as thelayer 530. In some embodiments, the layer 530 may include any III-Vcompound semiconductor obtained by combining group III elements (e.g.,boron, aluminum, gallium, indium or thallium) with group V elements(e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony or bismuth). In someembodiments, the layer 530 including any III-V compound semiconductormay be formed by epitaxial growth of the III-V semiconductor. In someembodiments, the layer 530 may include silicon (Si). The layer 530 maybe formed as another separate film including silicon on thesemiconductor substrate 500. Alternatively, the layer 530 may be aportion of the semiconductor substrate 500. By depositing the insulatingfilm that has a thickness less than a depth of the trench, a top portionof the semiconductor substrate 500 may remain as the layer 530.

The apparatus 50 includes the gate electrode 501 that is above a portionof the layer 530 and a portion of the isolation region 502. In someembodiments, the gate electrode 501 may include one or more dielectriclayers. In FIG. 5 , the one or more dielectric layers include adielectric layer 505 and another dielectric layer 510. The dielectriclayer 505 is above a portion of the layer 530 and a portion of theisolation region 502. The dielectric layer 505 may include a portiondisposed on the layer 530 and another portion disposed on the isolationregion 502. The dielectric layer 505 may be an insulating film that maybe referred to a gate oxide. The gate oxide may include a silicon oxidefilm (SiO2), a silicon nitride film (Si3N4), a silicon oxynitride film(SiOxNy), a combination thereof, etc., for example.

In some embodiments, the gate electrode 501 may further includeconductive layers. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the conductivelayers may include conductive layers 508 and 509. The conductive layer508 may be disposed on the dielectric layer 505. The gate electrodelayer 508 may be a poly-silicon (poly-Si) layer including poly-silicon.In some embodiments, the gate electrode layer 508 may be doped with animpurity. In some embodiments, the apparatus 50 may be an N-channel typeMOSFET, and the conductive layer 507 may be doped with n-type impuritysuch as phosphorus, arsenic or antimony suitable for an N-channel typeMOSFET. In some embodiments, the apparatus 50 may be a P-channel typeMOSFET, and the conductive layer 507 may be doped with p-type impuritysuch as boron or indium suitable for an N-channel type MOSFET.

The conductive layer 509 may be disposed on the conductive layer 508.The conductive layer 509 may be one or more metal layers. The one ormore metal layers may include, for example, tungsten (W) or the like.The dielectric layer 510 may be disposed on the conductive layer 509.The dielectric layer 505 may be an insulating film. The insulating filmmay include a silicon nitride film (Si3N4) for example. A conductiveplug 521 may be disposed through the dielectric layer 510 to be incontact with the conductive layer 509. The conductive plug 521 may beelectrically coupled to the conductive layer 509. For example, theconductive plug 521 may include copper (Cu) or the like. In someembodiments, the conductive plug 521 may be a through-dielectric via(TDV) (e.g., through-dielectric conductor).

The layer 530 may have an interface 531 in contact with the dielectriclayer 505 of the gate electrode 501. In some embodiments, the interface531 may include a portion that may be on a main surface of the layer 530in contact with the dielectric layer 505. In some embodiments, theinterface 531 may further include another portion on a side surface ofthe layer 530 in a direction of a thickness of the layer 530 and is incontact with the dielectric layer 505. The other portion of theinterface 531 in the direction of the thickness of the layer 530 may beperpendicular to the main surface of the layer 530. A corner 533 of theinterface 531 is disposed at an intersection of the portion and theother portion of the interface 531. Carriers with increased mobility maycause concentration of charged particles at and/or around the corner 533of the interface 531. When a relatively high voltage is applied to thegate electrode 501 through the conductive layers 509 and 508, abreakdown may be facilitated in the dielectric layer 505 due to theconcentration of the charged particles at and/or around the corner 533of the interface 531. For example, a breakdown in the dielectric layer505 may be caused due to the concentration of the charged particles atand/or around the corner 533 of the interface 531. Thus, a conductivepath may be created through the dielectric layer 505 at and/or aroundthe corner 533 of the interface 531. For example, the conductive pathmay include an end in proximity to the corner 533.

In the embodiments described above, DRAM is described as an example ofthe semiconductor devices 1, 3, 4 and 5 according to variousembodiments, but the above description is merely one example and notintended to be limited to DRAM. Memory devices other than DRAM, such asstatic random-access memory (SRAM), flash memory, erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM),and phase-change memory for example can also be applied as thesemiconductor device 1. Furthermore, devices other than memory,including logic ICs such as a microprocessor and an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) for example are also applicable as thesemiconductor devices 1, 3, 4 and 5 according to the foregoingembodiments.

Although various embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodimentsextend beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to otheralternative embodiments and/or uses and obvious modifications andequivalents thereof. In addition, other modifications which are withinthe scope of this disclosure will be readily apparent to those of skillin the art based on this disclosure. It is also contemplated thatvarious combination or sub-combination of the specific features andaspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within the scopeof the disclosure. It should be understood that various features andaspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with or substitutedfor one another in order to form varying mode of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, it is intended that the scope of at least some of thepresent disclosure should not be limited by the particular disclosedembodiments described above.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate, thesubstrate including an active region defined by an isolation region, theisolation region including a shallow trench insulation structure formedin the substrate; a first conductive layer on a first surface of thesubstrate, the first surface being in the active region, the firstconductive layer including an interface; a second conductive layer; anda plurality of dielectric layers disposed on one another between thefirst conductive layer and the second conductive layer, the plurality ofdielectric layers including a conductive path responsive to a voltageapplied on the dielectric layers, wherein the interface includes: afirst portion on a second surface of the first conductive layer incontact with the dielectric layer; a second portion perpendicular to thefirst portion, the second portion in contact with the dielectric layer;and a corner at an intersection of the first portion and the secondportion, the corner being an outward corner, the dielectric layersinclude a corner overlapping the outward corner of the interface, andthe conductive path has an end in proximity to the corner of theinterface to facilitate breakdown of the dielectric layers at and/oraround the corners of the interface and the dielectric layers due toconcentration of charged particles at and/or around the corners uponapplication of the voltage, wherein the active region includes a channelregion, the first conductive layer includes a low impedance layerlaterally positioned to the channel region in the active region, and theapparatus further comprises a plurality of conductive plugs in contactwith the low impedance layer.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thefirst conductive layer comprises a material having an impedance lowerthan an impedance of a material included in the substrate.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the first conductive layer includes III-Vcompound semiconductor including group III elements and group Velements.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the material includessilicon-germanium.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the firstconductive layer is formed by epitaxial growth.
 6. An apparatus,comprising: a substrate, the substrate including an active regiondefined by an isolation region, the isolation region including a shallowtrench insulation structure formed in the substrate; a layer on asurface of the substrate, the surface being in the active region, thelayer including an interface, the interface including a corner on firstand second portions of the layer, the second potion being perpendicularto the first portion; and a plurality of dielectric layers disposed onone another on the layer, wherein the layer includes III-V compoundsemiconductor including group III elements and group V elements, thedielectric layers are configured to include a conductive path responsiveto a voltage applied on the dielectric layers, and the conductive pathincludes an end in proximity to the corner of the interface tofacilitate breakdown of the dielectric layers at and/or around thecorners of the interface and the dielectric layers due to concentrationof charged particles at and/or around the corners upon application ofthe voltage, wherein the active region includes a channel region, thelayer includes a low impedance layer laterally positioned to the channelregion in the active region, and the apparatus further comprises aplurality of conductive plugs in contact with the low impedance layer.7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the layer is formed as anotherfilm.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the layer is formed bydepositing an insulating film in a trench on the semiconductorsubstrate, and wherein a thickness of the insulating film is less than adepth of the trench.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the layer isformed by epitaxial growth of the III-V semiconductor.
 10. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein the layer includes silicon-germanium.
 11. Anapparatus, comprising: a substrate, the substrate including an activeregion defined by an isolation region, the isolation region including ashallow trench insulation structure formed in the substrate; a firstconductive layer on a first surface of the substrate, the first surfacebeing in the active region, the first conductive layer having main andside surfaces above the first surface of the substrate, the firstconductive layer including an interface on the main and side surfaces,the interface including a corner at an intersection of the main and sidesurfaces; a second conductive layer; a plurality of dielectric layersdisposed on one another between the first conductive layer and thesecond conductive layer, the plurality of dielectric layers covering atleast a first portion of the main surface of the first conductive layerand at least a second portion of the side surface of the firstconductive layer; and a conductive path between the first and secondconductive layers and through the dielectric layers, the conductive pathbeing responsive to a voltage applied on the dielectric layers, whereinthe conductive path has an end in proximity to the corner of theinterface to facilitate breakdown of the dielectric layers at and/oraround the corners of the interface and the dielectric layers due toconcentration of charged particles at and/or around the corners uponapplication of the voltage, wherein the active region includes a channelregion, the first conductive layer includes a low impedance layerlaterally positioned to the channel region in the active region, and theapparatus further comprises a plurality of conductive plugs in contactwith the low impedance layer.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein atleast one of the dielectric layers includes gate oxide.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the gate oxide includes a siliconoxynitride film.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the dielectriclayers include a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer onthe first dielectric layer, and wherein the second dielectric layerincludes a high-k film.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, furthercomprising an isolation layer on the second dielectric layer.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the isolation layer includes an aluminumoxide.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the high-k film includesoxidized transition metal.